Dr Ester Cumber-Kraehmer qualified as a Specialist Orthodontist in 1989 from the University of Pretoria. She was the first female orthodontist in South Africa to be awarded the MChD degree in Orthodontics. From 1989 until 1996 she worked in the Department of Orthodontics at the University of the Limpopo, initially as Acting Head of Department and later Professor and Head of Department. She trained the first orthodontic registrars to qualify from that institution. During that time she was involved in both the Pretoria and Ga-Rankuwa facial cleft deformity clinics, treating patients with cleft lip and palates from birth to adulthood.

In 1997 Dr Cumber-Kraehmer moved to the United Kingdom where she worked at Quadrant Orthodontics in Richmond, South West London. In 2001 she became the owner and Principal Orthodontist of Quadrant Orthodontics. She has always believed in staying at the forefront of Orthodontics, providing state of the art treatment with self-ligating appliances (Damon), custom made lingual braces (Incognito) and clear aligners (Invisalign).

Since returning to South Africa at the end of 2010, Dr Cumber-Kraehmer has been in private specialist practice at smile@ortho in Three Rivers, Vereeniging. She is the only full-time specialist orthodontist in the Vaal Triangle. Her special interest is the Damon System (low friction self-ligating braces) because of the excellent aesthetic results she can offer her patients of all ages.

Dr Cumber-Kraehmer is active in the national and international orthodontic arenas. She is the Past President of the South African Society of Orthodontists (SASO). She is also a member of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) and a Fellow of the World Federation of Orthodontists (WFO).

When she is not ‘straightening teeth’, Dr Cumber-Kraehmer enjoys spending time with the family, camping in the Bushveld, riding her motorcycle, oil painting and cooking.